


Painting a Different Picture

by Starjargon



Category: Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: 5+1 Things, Best Friends, Could be taken as ship or not, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Janet van Dyne and Hank Pym, Love or In Love, Marvel Reverse Big Bang 2020, Unconditional Friendship, Unconditional Love, up to you, your choice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:48:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29124426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starjargon/pseuds/Starjargon
Summary: Love. It's complicated. Messy. Wonderful. Heartbreaking. Unconditional.Janet loves Hank. Hank loves Janet.With all that entails.
Relationships: Hank Pym & Janet Van Dyne, Hank Pym/Janet Van Dyne
Kudos: 9
Collections: Marvel Reverse Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> "When someone shows you their true colours, don't try to paint a different picture."
> 
> Beta'd by the very wonderful, helpful, and patient [Britt_pknapp](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Britt_pknapp/pseuds/Britt_pknapp). All remaining mistakes are my own.

“Hank, you are literally my favourite person in the whole world!” Jan tells her… partner. Best friend. Boyfriend. Maybe. It’s hard to describe. She loves him. Knows he cares about her, without a doubt. But… she can learn to write grants and sweet talk investors for hundreds of thousands of dollars. She can make deals for some of the best equipment science has to offer. She can ensure and arrange entrance to the most clandestine countries into the world and fight off supernatural criminals whilst the size of a… Wasp. But she could never quite get Hank to define what they were to each other. Or even get him to admit out loud he has any feelings of affection for her at all. One of the many flaws of this overly passionate pacifist she’s so fascinated with.

Right now, she’s trying to get him to leave his precious lab and hang out with her, just  _ be  _ with no danger, no weight of the world, and above all, no science.

Just for a night.

It’s not going so well. He responded to her requests by telling her she should find other people who enjoy going out on the town. She’s beginning to believe he’s starting to confuse people with his insects or his robots because he seems to think each person is just as interchangeable as another.

Which, given his belief that no criminal is beyond help and reform, is a bit ironic.

That’s okay.

Mostly. Jan sees it as her job to remind him that there’s an entire world full of things just as important as… mapping insect genomes. Some might even argue that there are things even  _ more _ important than learning about the more than 2 million or more species of insect on Earth.

For instance, people like those who had attempted to infiltrate Wakanda, one of the African continent’s most guarded secrets. People who need to be stopped, even if they  _ can _ be saved. Which- she has her doubts, but she believes in Hank the way Hank believes in rehabilitation.

“ _ Hank _ ,” she tries again, “come on. You can take a few hours off so we can get out of this lab.” He was readjusting his helmet, determined to communicate with his ants about something. It was probably warning them of the dangers of cinnamon when it came to their anthills.

“Hank!” she hears her voice raise, just enough to try to get his attention.

“Jan- this is fascinating!” he exclaims, looking through his microscope lens excitedly.

She stands behind him, sliding her arms around his chest, resting her head between his shoulder blades.

“This isn’t-  _ Hank. _ ” She stays behind him in the familiar pose. “I’d rather go out with you than anyone else, but if you won’t go with me, I’m not going to stay in here waiting for you to look up from your microscope,” she declares, sighing when he gives no indication he even hears her.

“All right,” she concedes with a long exhale, breathing out and grabbing her coat, leaving the card of the place she’s going right beside him in the vain hope he’ll change his mind. She spares a glance back at him excitedly taking notes in a laptop sitting next to him as she walks out the door.

That night, when she finally gets home, Hank is passed out on her sofa. She feels her lips quirk up, and she covers him with a blanket. 


	2. 1 the Big House

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 5 times Jan apologises for Hank not being who others expect him to be +1 time she accepts him as he is for who he is.

When he mentions creating a rehabilitative prison, shrunken down to minuscule level, she only takes a moment to process it, then begins to help him with plans to set it up.

They work for months on the design, the security, and the ideas for the reform, when Jan gets a call from Director Fury of SHIELD, informing them they would like to handle the running of Dr. Pym’s new prison.

Jan and Hank meet with Director Fury, and Hank enthusiastically advocates for getting any prisoners that end up in their prison the help they need to become valuable and peaceful members of society. Jan stands behind Hank as he explains his position passionately. The Director doesn’t seem particularly impressed until Jan interjects and sells the concept expertly.

“Why punish people indefinitely when you can help them learn how to control their urges, understand their powers, and allow them to go free and actually changed?” She asks, walking around the chair until she is sitting next to Hank. “Not to mention, it’s cheaper, in the long run, to let them go than locking them up for life.”

Fury simply nods his head at that statement, and Jan gets the impression he’s dreaming up his own agenda involving Hank’s idea.

“And how exactly would we keep these people in line in the meantime?” he asks. Jan smiles. This was Hank’s favourite part of his program. “Hank once worked with Tony Stark to develop a series of artificially intelligent, nearly-indestructible synthezoids. The program is called Ultron. The Ultron androids can keep people in line. It’s non-violent, not rough as humans can tend to get. They have no flesh to be harmed by whatever dangers super-powered humans might have. And they can keep a more vigilant watch, never needing sleep or breaks. Hank’s programmed them for compassion and protection.”

“And you believe this _Ultron_ will be enough to keep the prisoners from escaping?” Fury inquires.

“Well that, and…” Jan shows stands, leading him to a model of the intended prison, “The prison itself is designed to make escape impossible.”

“What’s so great about this building?” he growls in his natural rough tone.

“That’s not just the model size. Using my technology, that’s the _actual_ size of the prison,” Hank answers.

“We call it 'the Big House,’” Jan giggles at the ironic name she’d convinced Hank to bestow.

Suddenly, the gruff Director looked up at them in assessment, bending once more to inspect the small prison. Then, just as suddenly, he threw his head back and laughed.

“Build this prison for _real_ , Dr. Pym, and SHIELD will worry about prisoners in 'the Big House,' he chuckled, turning and walking away.

Jan turned and hugged Hank, so proud all their hard work would pay off.

* * *

The Big House is a massive ( _ha!_ ) success.

Until it isn’t.

Hank explodes on Director Fury, questioning his methods for the prisoner housed there. Then, he finds out Fury has installed the Ultron guards in the other three prisons SHIELD controlled. And those are just the prisons Hank and Jan are able to find _out_ about.

He threatens to pull the plug and reprogram Ultron until he sees evidence of prisoners getting help.

Jan steps in, calming the infuriated… Fury, who tells them he will do anything he needs to keep the world protected.

Hank storms off, no doubt to change Ultron to report back to him in other ways, and Jan is left glaring angrily at the director.

“You should have told him,” she huffed, arms crossed over her chest.

“While you and Dr. Pym are safe in your little lab looking at bugs, there are those of us who have to live in the real world. And the real world is dangerous, Miss Van Dyne. Especially when people who have the ability to help fight those dangers refuse to.”

Jan looks away, chastened.

“He just- he’d rather people get the help he thinks they need than risk hurting them, or worse, as Ant-Man,” she explains. “And he doesn’t want to see his creation fall into the wrong hands.”

“And are you so sure his are the right ones?” Fury asks.

* * *

Jan stops by Hank’s lab later that day and informs him she’s agreed to work for SHIELD as the Wasp. Hank gets angry, then sighs and tells her she could tell them he’ll help, _in a limited capacity_ , as well.


	3. 2 Ultron

Working with SHIELD turned into working with a new team led by Tony Stark himself. The Avengers were… still learning how to work together, and that’s fine.

Tony was funny if a bit cocky. And Hulk had a great, dry sense of humour. Steve became her partner in crime when her actual partner… was still in his lab. Steve had missed out on so much, and he was eager to go out with Jan when she wanted a buddy to hang out with. And Thor was just as entertaining when he was on Earth. So, this Avenger thing was good for her. Really.

At least Hank came out to play in  _ someone else’s  _ lab once in a while.

It took them a bit to start working well, but Jan enjoyed the training. Although, Hank did tend to get angry every time they arrested another villain, railing against punishments versus focusing on developments, but at least he didn’t explode at their boss anymore.

Though, she worried when he began to get discouraged, questioning what the Avengers were doing any time there was another person who just couldn’t be saved.

It all came to a head when he began yelling toward her, not angry or yelling  _ at  _ her, but venting his frustration in a very vocal way. He was working on his Ultron program at the time, and suddenly, the program… went wrong.

Very, very wrong.

Ultron, the ultimate form of protection and the optimal prison guard, suddenly began attacking anyone he perceived as a threat.

Which was everyone.

Except for Jan.

Because, apparently, her emotionally constipated yet extraordinarily passionate  _ Hank _ had ensured that even if everything went to, well, wherever it was going at the moment, Jan, and  _ only  _ Jan, would be safe.

So, she was left to watch from the sidelines,  _ safe  _ and  _ protected _ as Ultron turned on everyone else, including Hank.

Hank was able to fight him off, attempting to reconfigure his programming. Still, unfortunately, all it accomplished was Ultron countermanding himself to be capable of harming her, which he attempted to do immediately.

The Avengers nearly succumbed. Thor nearly  _ died _ . It took all of them to fight the rogue cyborg, and even then, had it not been for Tony’s intervention, Earth itself would have been destroyed.

Hank was so desolate from his helplessness in the face of his own creation, he hugged Jan, then walked off, quitting the Avengers and Superhero-ing completely.

Jan tried to call him back, but at the accusatory looks from the others, she held up both hands and asked them to understand- he only ever wanted to help people, and instead, his creation nearly succeeded in ridding the world of all of humankind.


	4. 3. Scott Lang

Apparently, Hank had realised his old lab and equipment had been stolen. Jan went to go help him investigate, and the two of them were able to comb through his security footage to find the thief.

The very, very small thief.

That was using Hank’s equipment to rob banks.

“When we find this loser, we gotta teach him a lesson,” Jan projected angrily, shrinking out of reflex.

“Jan,” Hank rolled his eyes in amusement, “We can just go get the equipment  _ back _ ,” he pointed out.

“Hank,” she grunted, “He’s using  _ Ant-Man _ to commit crimes!” she shouted. “Imagine what would happen if people thought all Superheroes could just  _ start doing bad stuff. _ I mean, there’d be repercussions! And not just for the Avengers- the Fantastic Four would be hounded, and the X-Men! Those kids would have an even harder time justifying their abilities than they do now.”

“Don’t you think you’re slightly overreacting?” Hank asked with a chuckle.

“When people who have unusual abilities start giving themselves a bad name, it reflects badly on all of us,” she argued, sure she was right.

“Okay, but the banks have insurance, and so far no one has gotten hurt,” he reasons.

“ _ So far, _ Hank. Do you know how fast a situation can turn from a ‘so far’ into a ‘lately it’s kinda been getting better?”

“I’m just saying that we don’t know much about this guy yet, Jan. No reason to assume the worst. Besides, I’m more concerned he chose to use an unstable prototype rather than the actual suit.”

“…Oh,” Jan gets out. “We should probably stop that from exploding or something, right?”

“Probably,” Hank agrees with a chuckle.

They track down the thief to an old warehouse. The man seems surprised, but not disappointed to get caught, only starting to worry when Jan gets upset and lays into him, telling him how long he’s going to spend in prison and how much he’s endangered the lives and livelihoods of superheroes and mutants everywhere.

The guy, oneScott Lang, if his ID is to be believed, actually seems more nervous about the phone call he’s just received.

It turns out, getting blackmailed into robbing a bank to save your kid is a very, very good reason not to release the full force of the Wasp’s wrath on a person.

In fact, she and Hank maybe kinda sorta… help him. Take down the blackmailers and rescue his daughter.

When all is said and done, however, she lifts an eyebrow, waiting for him to offer the suit back. Which he does, promptly even, except Hank has held out both hands up, rejecting it.

“Hank Pym is through being Ant-Man,” he explains. “That doesn’t mean Ant-Man should be through. Go to this address and ask Tony Stark to start your training. You’re an Avenger now, Lang.”

He throws an arm over Jan’s shoulder, leading her away from the gob-smacked father.

Jan looks back incredulously.

“Hank- you just sent a thief into the Avengers  _ Mansion. _ Do you know what could  _ happen _ if we weren’t home one day?”

“Jan, he just needs a second chance,” the once-brilliant scientist maintained.

“And an ankle monitor,” Jan muttered. She crossed her arms, then changed her mind and shrank down.

“Where are you going?” Hank asked her.

“I gotta go explain things to Tony and Steve and the others, or they’re likely to fight over this,” she called as she flew away.


End file.
